8. Welcome home

Dear new Golden Eagles,

This is a big moment. As you unpacked with your parents and met your new roommates, know that you’ve just begun something truly special.
These rooms will soon feel like home.

7. Marquette fast facts

Which Marquette fast fact are you most proud of?

6. Knot just a snack, it’s a Marquette-made masterpiece!

The city’s go-to pretzel snack was created by Marquette alumni Matt Wessel, Comm ’03, Grad ’11, and Katie (Spaulding) Wessel, Arts ’07.

The Wessels moved to Munich, Germany, to spend a year abroad. After returning to Milwaukee, they brought a piece of Germany with them, the Bavarian soft pretzel. They started making pretzels in Matt’s mom’s kitchen. After receiving positive reviews, they rented space, and the Milwaukee Pretzel Company was born.

In 2020, the pretzels found their way into grocery store freezers. To meet the increasing demand, the company invested in automated machinery from Germany. As the company has expanded, they have contributed thousands of dollars to local organizations in Milwaukee.

The “Marquette pretzel” has become a sensation. For the past five years, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has collaborated with the Milwaukee Pretzel Company to send out pretzels to admitted students.

Did you know, you can enjoy their Bavarian pretzels at American Family Field during Brewers’ games? They are the exclusive pretzel supplier of the Milwaukee Brewers.

5. A touch of nostalgia

If throwbacks are your thing, our Pinterest is basically a treasure chest!

Explore Marquette on Pinterest here.

4. Welcome home, Class of 2029!

Our Marquette family got a little bigger in August. Get to know our newest Golden Eagles:

• More than 1,930 students from 39 states, two U.S. territories and 19 other countries
• Nearly 21,000 students applied for the Class of 2029
• Marquette welcomes its most diverse class in recorded history, with 33% identifying as students of color
• 22% are first-generation college students
• Nearly 13% of the class was accepted and committed to the highly competitive Honors Program
• More than 38% of the class hails from Wisconsin, while over 37% of the class hails from Illinois
• 130 students attended Jesuit high schools

3. Forever legendary: McCormick Hall: 1967-2019

The “beer-can” shaped, 12-story dormitory housed more than 700 students annually once its doors opened in fall 1967. On the outer ring of the building’s top 11 floors were dorm rooms, while the central core of each floor provided laundry rooms, elevators, and storage space. The first floor originally featured two dining rooms, a formal lounge and a hi-fi room; a sauna, an exercise room, a billiards room, and a chapel were in the basement.

Did you know…?

• Until 1990, McCormick Hall was an all-male residence hall.
• The building’s unique shape was partly due to an apartment that sat on the lot when construction began.
• The residence hall was supposed to have a twin, but it never materialized.

2. Where my story began

1. Going to the dogs

After graduation from Marquette, college sweethearts Kevin, Arts ’12, and Katie (Hatke) Bubolz, H Sci ’12, stayed busy. Kevin served overseas as an Army helicopter pilot, earned an MBA and later took a job at Microsoft. Katie worked as a speech pathologist, helping patients with brain injuries.

Then everything went to the dogs. In a good way.

In 2018, the couple started volunteering around hospitals and schools with Ellie, their 2-year-old golden retriever, who had just completed training as a therapy dog. When the pandemic prevented in-person visits, the Bubolzes pivoted to online, making videos for platforms including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

It turns out all three had a knack for it — Kevin and Katie with their natural charisma and Ellie with her nuclear-grade cuteness. Within a couple of years, the Bubolzes had quit their day jobs to make their living the 21st century way, earning money from online ad revenue and sponsorships.

“We don’t love the term ‘influencers,’ because that’s never been our goal,” Kevin says of their DIY media initiative, Golden Retriever Life. “We think of it as content creation and philanthropy.” Indeed, Kevin and Katie now spend their days filming Ellie — and her new puppy pal, Emma — at home and on service-minded road trips around America. Their videos attract millions of viewers, quite literally.